Business Real Estate and Political Risk

A company buying housing for a director's own residence is legally risky, since it can be viewed as misuse of company funds for a non-business purpose; workarounds include structuring a mixed-use building (part residential, part commercial) with a separate entrance registered with the city office, or leasing to the employee without explicitly stating it is "for them" — though a lawyer strongly advised against the latter option. On mortgages for rental investment property, banks formally do not approve an ordinary residential mortgage (jitakuroon) for investment purposes — the application explicitly states "cannot be rented out, for living in only" — and separate investment mortgage products exist with higher rates (ordinary residential rates run roughly 0.5–2.625%, while investment mortgages were discussed in the 2.5–4% range, with opinions in the chat diverging). When buying property as an investment, it is important to have the lease agreement in place before or during the purchase; successful rental-investment purchases in Tokyo almost always involved buying whole buildings rather than individual units, with rental arrangements agreed in advance. Short-term (Airbnb-style) rental as a business line was discussed as promising but with serious barriers: it requires a resident director, Japanese-language ability, "wet" (physical) seals, offline procedures, licensing, and guarantors for long-term leases; payback on a long-term Tokyo rental investment is estimated at around 40 years. Separately, participants discussed possible future restrictions on foreigners owning real estate in Japan amid the rising influence of anti-immigration parties (the Sanseito party became the fourth-largest opposition force in parliament in July 2025) — no concrete measures exist yet, this is a forecast or concern voiced in the chat. Similarly, bills to cut foreigners off from social assistance or health insurance are discussed politically, but participants note these remain party proposals, not passed law. Source: https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/21/far-right-japanese-first-party-sanseito-emerges-as-fourth-largest-opposition-force-in-parl — News on the Sanseito party becoming Japan's fourth-largest opposition force in parliament (July 2025).